Ahmedabad: Gujarat’s post graduate medical aspirants who appeared for the NEET PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – Post Graduate) in December 2016, fear a setback, due to the delay that has occurred in counselling in the face of ongoing legal cases and changes in the government’s policy. The other states are already onto the counselling process. Students fear the delay of the academic session by almost a month and a half.

This delay could result in students appearing for their final PG examinations just before NEET-SS (Super specialty), while students for whom the ruling is unfavorable would have only six months to prepare for NEET-PG 2018.

NEET-PG examinations were held between December 5 and December 13, 2016. The result of the examination was declared on January 13. 1,570 candidates from the state qualified for the exam. According to Supreme Court guidelines, the first round of counselling is to be complete by April 14 and the entire admission process is to be over by May 31.

The academic session which commences by May 1st , however, will be starting mid June, owing to the legal tussle in the matter.

A group of non-GU students filed a case in the Supreme Court against the preference system of reserved seats for GU students. Another case has been filed in the Gujarat High Court, by Gujarat University students, demanding a stay on the admission process, as they were for retaining the preference system.

In addition, the state government has already issued a notification stating while there will be no preference in the GU, 25 per cent seats will be reserved for in-service doctors.

Dr Veer R Shah (23) of NHL Municipal Medical College explained, “If our post graduate course begins late, it will finish right before our entrance exams for super specialty courses like DM and MCh. We won’t have sufficient time for preparation. NEET-SS is a national level examination and its dates won’t be changed because Gujarat didn’t start the session on time.”

Minister of State for Health and Medical Education, Shankar Chaudhary said, “After the corruption at Sumandeep University came to light, we wanted to bring about uniformity in the system so we removed the preference system. As far as the new rule of 25 per cent reservation for in-service doctors is concerned, it had always been in place for diploma courses and has now been introduced at the degree level too.”

Academicians, meanwhile, sympathized with the students.

Dean of NHL Municipal Medical College, Dr Pankaj Patel said, “If the legal decisions come late then the session is bound to get delayed. A plea will have to be filed in the SC to request an extension for the admission process in Gujarat.”

Dr Hansa Goswami ,PG Director, B J Medical College told the Ahmedabad Mirror, “These are legal and state government issues. We cannot intervene in them. We will have to simply go by their decisions.”